A leaked report in today’s Times newspaper has claimed the BBC is set to axe it’s radio station 6Music as part of a ‘strategic rethink’ of the public-funded service. The paper claims ‘Mark Thompson, the Director-General, will admit that the corporation, which is funded by the £3.6 billion annual licence fee, has become too large and must shrink to give its commercial rivals room to operate.’
Within hours of the announcement, a Facebook group attempting to save the future of the station had attracted over 50,000 members, while David Bowie wrote on Twitter: “6Music keeps the spirit of broadcasters like John Peel alive and for new artists to lose this station would be a great shame.” Mogwai guitarist Stuart Braithwaite also used Twitter to voice his disappointment at the decision, saying: “An utter scandal if true that they are to shut BBC 6music down.”
Commercial rock station Absolute Radio has expressed an interest in buying 6Music, with chief operating officer Clive Dickens telling The Times: “We would buy 6 Music from the BBC, both the brand and the network, and we’d run it more efficiently than they’ve been doing. The passion that we’re seeing from listeners shows there’s nothing wrong with the station, it’s just been overfunded.”
“It would stand a better chance of succeeding if it was run commercially. It could be a complementary service that could be run alongside our own stations. It wouldn’t generate a lot of cash but it would serve a lot of fans who don’t want to be disenfranchised.”
The station has gained a loyal following due to it’s focus on non-mainstream and un-signed bands, a direction which would likely change if bought by Absolute Radio, but a recent review appears to have sealed it’s fate after it found only 20 per cent of adults polled knew that the station existed.